Machine for producing flat-knitted reinforced fabrics



E. J. BERGER Aug. 13, 1940.

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING FLAT-KNITTED REINFORCEDFABRICS Filed Sept. 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l I A um A A A INVENTOR: Emzl Jfizryer,

ATTORNEYS.

E. J. BERGER Filed Sept. 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGHHL Z1 ,z Z6 2g lnr'f vmw 4W 2 MACHINE FOR PRODUCING FLAT-KNITTED REINFORCED FABRICS INVENTOR: Emzl Jfmryer,

Patented Aug. 13, 1940 MACHINE FOR PRODUCING FLAT-KNITTED REINFORCED FABRICS Emil J. Berger, Hatfield, Pa., assignor to Dexdale Hosiery Mills, Lansdale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 5, 1939, Serial No. 293,340

' 5 Claims. (Cl. 65-129) This invention relates to flat-knitted reinforced fabrics, and to fiat-knitting machines for producing such fabrics, particularly fashioned fabrics suitable for hosiery and the like.

My invention has for its chief aim the provision of flat-knitted reinforced fabric, with widened areas in which the selvages are immune to raveling and the formation of ladders along the edges, and which is devoid of holes or other objectionable marks/such as are formed when transfer points are employed in fashioning.

Another object of my invention is to make possible the production of knitted fabric, characterized as above, economically and expeditiously on flat full-fashioned knitting machines of the Cotton type ordinarily used in the stocking industry.

Attempts have been made heretofore to produce widened fabrics on machines of the kind referred to, solely by periodically increasing the throw of the yarn feeds, but the product was unsatisfactory by reason of the lack of perfect run-proof selvages. The difliculty is explainable as follows:

In full-fashioned knitting machines, the dividers are made lower than the sinkers with which they alternate, to provide clearance for the delivery ends for the yarn feeds, which, at the limits of their traverse in opposite directions, come to rest centrally over one of said dividers in the interval between therespectively adjacent sinkers, so as to be out of the way of said sinkers when the latter are subsequently advanced to sink the yarn between the needles. Thus, with this usual arrangement, the minimum increase which can be made each time in'widening is by the extend of two needles at opposite ends of the series, over which two needles a single loop is formed, with the result that the sinker loop intervening the loops formed in the succeeding course of the knitting on the two added needles is left free for immediate development of a run and the formation of a ladder along the fabric edge.

The above dlfilculty I have overcome in prac tice as hereinafter more fully explained, by making a slight change in the construction of the feed which supply the reinforcing yarn or yarns, so that said feeds may reach into the intervals between the sinkers and dividers respectively at opposite sides of the individual needles immediately adjacent the endmost added needles, and may thereby feed their yarns to said intermediate needles. Under these conditions, a loop formed from the main yarn on the two added needles is overlapped by a loop formed on the innermost of the added needles and the next adjacent needle inward of the fabric edge, with the result that the intervening sinker wale loop of the immediately adjacent course is tied into the fabric and accordingly prevented from running. Fabric produced in accordance with my invention is further unique in that its edges are formed solely from the main yarn, and moreover in that selvaged loops of the reinforcing yarn are doubled with plain loops of said main yarn in corresponding courses and in wales immediately adjacent the edge wales containing the selvage loops of said main yarn.

As also explained in detail hereinafter, it is possible through my invention to produce parallel sided fabric in which the edge wales are formed solely by selva'ge loops of the main yarn with the reinforcement ending in the next adjacent wale immediately inward of the fabric edge. My improved fabric is thus especially advantageous in connection with full-fashioned stockings where the avoidance of'bulky and un sightly seams is highly desirable.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. I is a fragmentary view of reinforced flat knitted fabric conveniently embodying my invention.

Fig. II is a fragmentary diagrammatic view in plan, of a flat knitting machine with improved yarn feeds, suitable to the production of my improved fabric.

Fig. 111 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of the machine in front elevation.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary larger scale detail view of the machine corresponding to Fig. III, showing how the selvages are formed along the fashioned or widened portions of the fabric 11- lustrated'in Fig. I.

Fig. V is a perspective view corresponding to Fig. IV.

Fig. VI is a perspective view like Fig. V showing how the selvages are formed along the parallel edge portions of the fabric.

Fig. VII is a fragmentary view of a slightly modified embodiment of my improved fabric; and

Fig. VIII is a view like Fig. IV showing how the selvages of the modified fabric are formed.

Referring first to Fig. I of these drawings, the fabric there shown is produced from two yarns I and 2, which, in order that they may be readily distinguished, are represented respectively by heavy and light lines, although they may in practice be of the same gauge or count. For convenience, the heavy line yarn I will hereinafter be referred to as the main yarn, and the light line yarn 2 as the "reinforcing yarn. In the straight sided portion 3 of the fabric, it will be noted that in the courses designated by the numeral 4, the selvage loops 5 of the edge wale are formed solely from the main yarn I, and that in the next adjacent wale, end selvage loops 6 formed from the reinforcing yarn 2 in the same courses are doubled with plain loops 1 of said main yarn. The fashioned portion 8 of the fab-.

ric results from the addition in alternate courses 9 of end loops l and respectively formed from the main and reinforcing yarns I and 2. As shown, each of the loops I0 and H comprehend two adjacent needle wales and over-lap in each instance in the needle wale immediately adjacent the edge wale. The loops l0 and H, it will be furthermore noted, are tied together by the end selvage loop l2 of the reinforcing yarn I in the succeeding course IS in the direction of the knitting, with the resultant anchoring of the sinker wale loop i4 connecting the adjacent end needle loops l and I2 in the last mentioned course, whereby the fabric is made against ravelling and the development of ladders along the widened edges. By reason of the fact that its edges are of single thickness, this fabric of my invention is especially advantageous in connection with stocking manufacture, since it obviates thick, bulky and unsightly seams when its A edges are united by sewing.

In Figs. II-VI, I have illustrated one way in which the fabric of Fig. I can be readily produced on a flat full-fashioned knitting machine of the type featured in U. S. Patent No. 1,982,991 granted to Kenneth Howie and Charles C. Krieble on December 4, 1934, in which the yarn feeds are supported by oscillating endless bands whereof three are indicated respectively at l8, l1 and I8 in Fig. II. As shown, the band 16 carries a feed IQ for the main yarn, while the bands I! and I8 respectively carry auxiliary feeds 2!! and 2| for yarns which are used for example to reinforce the heel portions H of the stocking blank B being produced on the machine. It is to be understood that the heel portions H are shaped by widening like the portion 8 of the fabric in Fig. I, the

widening being effected by occasional increase in.

the outward throw of the main feed in opposite directions and by corresponding concurrent'fincreases in the outward throw of the auxili feeds incident to the knitting, so that additional end needles of the series indicated at'22 are supplied with yarns each time. In Fig. III, the sinkers and the dividers of the machine are respectively designated 23 and 24, said dividers being, as ordinarily, lower than the sinkers. The main yarn feed I9 is tubular and vertically disposed as usual, and at the ends of its strokes in opposite directions comes to rest centrally between an adjacent pair'of sinkers 23 directly over the intervening divider 24 as shown in Figs. IV and V. In accordance with my invention, however, the auxiliary feeds 20 and 2|, instead of being upright as ordinarily, are oppositely inclined outwardly at complementary angles relative to each other, and beveled off vertically as at 25, 26 at their delivery ends, as best shown in Figs. III and IV. By virtue of this changed construction of the auxiliary feeds 20 and 2|, it is possible for each of them to be brought into feeding position in the interval between a sinker 23 and a corresponding divider 24 as instanced in connection with the feed 20 in Fig. IV, and thus supply its yarn to the needle immediately adjacent the end needle. Thus, incident to widening. both the main and reinforcing yarns are fed to the second needle from the end so that the corresponding sinker wale loop of the succeeding course of the fabric is anchored in the manner described in connection with Fig. I. The straight salvage edge portion of each heel reinforcement corresponding to the portion 3 of Fig. I, will obviously result when the feeds are held to a constant throw in opposite directions.

The modified fabric shown in Fig. VII is identical with that featured in Fig. I except that in shaping it, only one loop IE1: is added at the end of each of the widened courses. In order to preclude the necessity for repetitive description all .the elements of the modification which have their counterparts in Fig. I are designated by the same reference numerals previously employed except for the addition of the letter "0. in each instance for the purpose of ready distinction.

In order to make the formation of the modified fabric of Fig. VII possible on the knitting machine, the feed i9a for the main yarn la is sloped, as shown in Fig. VIII, in the same direction as the reinforcing yarn feed 20, and the sinkers 23a are reduced to the level of the dividers 24 so that there may be no interference to their passing forwardly after said feed I90 has come to rest at the end of its leftward stroke.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A fiat-knitting machine having a series of needles; cooperating sinker elements for sinking yarn between needles; a reciprocating main yarn feed; and an auxiliary yarn feed arranged at an angle with its delivery and beveled off vertically for capacity to reach down between adjacent sinker elements and thus to supply its yarn to the needle next adjacent an end needle supplied by the main yarn feed.

2. A flat-knitting machine having a series of needles; cooperating sinkers and dividers for sinking yarn between needles; a reciprocating main yarn feed which at the end of each traverse comes to rest above one of the dividers; and a reinforcing yarn feed which is arranged to reach down into the interval between the sinker and the divider respectively at opposite sides of the needle immediately inward of the last end needle fed by the main yarn carrier for capacity to supply its yarn to the first mentioned needle.

3. A full-fashioned stocking knitting machine having a series of needles; cooperating sinkers and dividers for sinking the yarn between the needles; a reciprocating feed for supplying a main yarn to the needles; and a pair of reciprocating auxiliary feeds for supplying reinforcing yarns, said auxiliary feeds being oppositely inclined outward and beveled at their delivery ends for capacity to reach down between the sinkers and the dividers respectively at opposite sides of the individual needles immediately inward of the endmost needles supplied by the main yarn feed and to supply their yarns to the two first mentioned needles.

4. A fiat-knitting machine having a series of needles; cooperating sinker elements of uniform height for sinking yarn between needles; and reciprocating main and reinforcing yarn feeds which are complementarily inclined and beveled off vertically at their delivery ends for capacity to reach down between adjacent pairs of the sinker elements and thus to feed the yarns to immediately adjacent needles.

5. A flat-knitting machine having a series of needles; cooperating sinker elements for sinking yarn between needles; and reciprocating main and reinforcing yarn feeds reaching down to a. level below the tops of said sinker elements and coming to rest at the ends of their outward throw in the intervals between adjacent pairs of said sinker elements for capacity to feed their yarns respectively to two immediately neighboring end needles.

EMIL J BERGER. 

